I agree with most of this, except that you can use the FHA loan to purchase a 2-4 unit property and rent out the other units if you want (completely legal and part of the FHA program).

I still think a well thought out direct mail program is they way to go for marketingAs far as education you cant beat Josh and Brandons "Beginners Guide to REI" found here on BPAnother guy I reccomend Highly is Justin Williams at www.houseflippingHQ.comHe has a course called FFF which is excellent and he sells for peanuts,,,plus hes a honest squared away going doing the business full time,,,,In time youll find REI is a tough little nut to crack ,,but it is worth all the effort if you stick to your guns and press onHope this helps,,,I wish you ther post.Im a contractor and I post here about plumbing and contractor issues from time to time.I love BP and all the gang here and I try to help and do my partGood Luck RobertDD in Los Angeles

LOLRE usually falls under the department of finance in business colleges.To get started in a formal education without heading toward a degree program that fits well with real estate, I suggest these areas of undergrad study.Economics 101 and 102Accounting 101 and 102, if you can take managerial accountingPersonal Finance, Money & BankingBusiness Finance 101 and 102 or similar levelsPrinciples of Real EstateBusiness Law and Legal ConceptsThese 10 classes or 30 hours would be a good foundation for RE.There are other courses that can be more specific, like construction management, municiple zoning and design as well as others.Depending on the benefits you might be looking at, you may look into an Associates Degree program at a local university in real estate or finance.IMO, good luck.... :)

I would recommend taking advantage of the education programs the military has while your in.

They will usually have large training programs available.

I think the USDA loan program looks good.

My name is Jeff....I was wondering if anyone out there at Biggerpockets has gone through the Dave Lindahl gold coaching program...I wanted to here with someone who has done it before I sign up....thanksJeff

The lender isn't usually the one that requires it, the lender requires a title policy and the title company won't issue one without the property survey.As for the financing, you can finance Multi Family properties with Fannie Mae but will likely have to go through their small loans program for this scenario.

I'm so thankful to have found a site like BiggerPockets where I can begin to learn at my own pace without having to drop thousands of dollars into a program that I don't know anything about.I originally started cherry-picking episodes of the podcast with titles that interested me and avoiding the ones that seemed intimidating (syndicating, hard-money lending, etc.).

A lot of the programs and books I'm using to study talk about real estate as a whole, but never focus on a certain style.